COSMIC May Newsletter

Justin Strekal on May 7, 2025

This is a shortened version of our non-member newsletter. If you would like the complete newsletter in the future, sign up here. If you are interested in full access to COSMIC news and programming, find out how to join here.

Last Call: RSVP for Convergence 2025  

RSVPs for Convergence 2025 will be accepted through May 20th. Scheduled for June 4-5 in Los Angeles, this year’s theme is “Space: Some Assembly Required”.

This 2nd annual COSMIC in-person general membership working meeting will bring together our diverse forum of ISAM users, developers, regulators, and researchers to accelerate the widespread adoption of these capabilities in space enterprise architectures.  

While Convergence will be a hybrid event, only the single-track programming on the first day will be available online.  

You can see the agenda and get more information at cosmicspace.org/convergence2025/

While space may be vast, space at Convergence 2025 is limited and only open to COSMIC members. If you are interested in attending, find out how to join COSMIC and submit your membership application before May 14th.

COSMIC Capstone Challenge (C3) Winners Announced

On April 14th -16th, COSMIC’s Workforce Development Focus Area hosted the First Annual COSMIC Capstone Challenge (C3) Showcase.

Twenty-three groups of 230+ college students from around the country showcased their presentations in competition to develop In-space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) concepts.

This first-of-its-kind competition saw student leaders present their knowledge, creativity, and ingenuity by developing hypothetical payloads which could demonstrate a chain of three or more operations providing on-orbit, autonomous ISAM capabilities.

Congratulations to Space Bender of California State University, LA on their victory! We look forward to hosting them to present their concept as part of the COSMIC Convergence  this June in Los Angeles.

In the category of Best Prototype, the winner is Zenith Engineering Solutions at the University of Texas, Arlington.

There were so many amazing presentations and it was a photo-finish for top place. COSMIC is confident that the ideas presented are worthy of consideration for development and deployment today to build a safe, scalable, and sustainable space ecosystem for the 21st century and beyond.  

Planning has already begun for the 2025-2026 C3 Challenge. COSMIC members who would be interested in the program, from serving as a mentor, advisor, judge, or otherwise, can contact Workforce Development at WD-COSMIC@aero.org.  

May COSMIC Working Meetings

  • The Policy & Regulation Focus Area will hold a workshop entitled Regulations 101: FCC ISAM Licensing on Thursday, May 15th at 3:30pm ET / 12:30pm PT.
  • The Research & Technology Focus Area meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 14th at 1pm ET / 10am PT.
  • The Workforce Development Focus Area meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 20th at 3pm ET / 11pm PT.
  • The Missions & Ecosystems Focus Area meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 21st at 2pm ET / 11am PT.
  • The Demonstration Infrastructure Focus Area meeting will be held on Thursday, May 22nd at 3pm ET / 12pm PT.

ISAM and COSMIC News

COSMIC members in SpaceNews: Space Force to Test Satellite Refueling Technologies in Orbit

ISAM History: Northrop Grumman Achieves First-Ever Undocking Between Two Commercial Spacecraft in Geosynchronous Orbit

ISAM in DefenseNews: Space Force Picks Northrop for ‘Elixir’ Satellite Refueling Demo

NASA’s Servicing Victory: Hubble’s 35th Anniversary

COSMIC: Capstone Challenge Finals Were A Success

COSMIC: Convergence Keynote Announced

Upcoming ISAM Conference Sessions and Panels

Featured: 2025 COSMIC Convergence

The 2025 COSMIC Convergence will be hosted June 4-5 in Los Angeles, California and feature two days of ISAM education and collaboration. Building upon the progress of COSMIC’s first year, this in-person members meeting will allow participants to dive deeper into the potential and needs of the emerging in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing domestic sector.  

Registration is now open to COSMIC members at cosmicspace.org/cosmic-convergence-2025/

2025 Value of Space Summit, September 9-11 in Colorado Springs, CO hosted by Space ISAC and co-hosted by the Aerospace Corporation. The theme is The Secure Space Ecosystem: Fostering Economic Growth, Global Partnerships, and Workforce Innovation. Find out more here. 

AI for Contested Space Workshop, September 23-25. Contact AIContestedSpace@ll.mit.edu for more information

Spacepower Conference, December 10-13 in Orlando, FL hosted by Space Force Association. Find out more at ussfa.org/spacepower-conference-2025/

Convergence Keynote Announced

Justin Strekal on April 10, 2025

COSMIC is honored to announce that the Keynote Speaker for Convergence 2025, themed “Space: Some Assembly Required,” will be Dr. Roberta M Ewart, Chief Technology Officer for the Space Systems Command (SSC) at Los Angeles Space Force Base.

In-Space Fluid Transfer AIAA Standard Published

Justin Strekal on March 13, 2025

As In-space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) continues to become more entrenched in space architecture designs, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has published the first-ever industry standard for in-space storable fluid transfer.

COSMIC Members Present During OSC/NIST Space Seminar

Justin Strekal on February 27, 2025

On February 13th, NOAA Office of Space Commerce and NIST hosted a seminar entitled Building an In-Space Circular Economy to explore what it will take for domestic leadership to achieve a safe, scalable, and sustainable space ecosystem with numerous COSMIC members presenting.